Dying of the Light
by The Second Batgirl
Summary: The spell on the evil Green Ranger is never broken, and the Power Rangers fell. In Angel Grove, five members of the rebellion go to search for an ancient artifact that might help defeat Rita... warnings: implied non-con, major character death, violence
1. Kimberly

_October 7th, 1993_

Kimberly paced back and forth in the Command Center as Billy worked rapidly to try and locate Jason. She was sure that Billy could do it; he was their resident genius, after all. But Jason had been missing for a while now, and with this Green Ranger running around, Kimberly was starting to worry for him. She knew he could take of himself, but she had thought the same thing about Zordon, and, well… she couldn't even bear to think about that, and she deliberately turned away from his empty tube.

"I think I've got it," Billy said suddenly. "I just have to reconfigure this setting and repolarize the beams, and then I think we should be able to get a lock on Jason, wherever he is."

"Here, Billy, let me help you," Trini said, coming over to stand next to him at the console.

"Thank you, Trini," Billy said in surprise. "It should go much faster with your aid. If you could strip these wires, that would be of great assistance."

While they were busy, Kimberly turned back to pacing.

"Hey," Zack said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. Jason's tough – he can take care of himself."

"I know," Kimberly agreed. "I'm just… this whole situation with the Green Ranger is starting to really worry me. And Zordon is…." She trailed off. "And I'm worried about Tommy! He got so cold suddenly." She felt a little bit silly for obsessing when so much else was going on, but thinking about Tommy was safe. Boys she could deal with. Something happening to Jason she could not.

"Got it!" Billy said triumphantly. "Initiating teleportation now."

The four Rangers stood back to watch as the familiar beam of red light materialized in the middle of the Command Center, and then solidified into Jason's form.

Kimberly screamed. Jason lay on the floor, blood gushing from a wound in his chest.

Zack was at Jason's side instantly.

"Jase," he said, his voice shaking. "Come on, bro, it's going to be okay."

Jason's breathing was labored, and Kimberly didn't know what to do. She had known on some level that being a Ranger could lead to serious injury or even death. But she had always thought that Jason would be fine. He was the best of them, after all. The strongest, the leader. She couldn't stand to think that he could be hurt. If something happened to him, than how was she supposed to function as a Ranger? She wasn't even half the fighter that he was. He was the rock that held them together, their leader.

"Jason," Zack was still pleading. "C'mon, man, don't do this. You can't die on us."

Billy was standing over Jason, waving some sort of medical device over Jason that Kimberly would swear was out of that weird scifi television show that her father used to watch. Kimberly watched Billy's face, wondering when he was going to have that moment where he figured out how to use science to save the day, just like he always did. Instead, she saw the exact moment when Billy realized that he didn't have an answer.

Jason's breathing grew steadily worse, and Zack still hadn't let go of his hand, while Trini knelt by him. Jason kept trying to speak, but no sound came from his throat. All they could do was watch until Jason's eyes closed and his labored breathing stopped completely.

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since they had found and rescued Jason, and now he was gone. He was actually dead.

They all just stood there for a moment, all of them in various stages of shock. Zack still hadn't let go of Jason's hand.

"What are we going to do?" Trini said finally, breaking the silence. "We need to tell his family."

"Tell them what?" Kimberly asked. "We don't even really know who… who killed him."

"Judging from the wound, I would say that it is safe to assume that Goldar is the one responsible for this," Billy said, his voice detached.

"So we tell them that Goldar killed him? Zordon said we aren't supposed to tell anyone that we're Rangers," Zack's voice rose in anger the farther along we got.

"Zordon could be gone as well," Trini said, her soft voice cutting Zack off before he got farther into his rant.

"If we tell them he was a Ranger, his family will surely figure out our identities as well," Billy pointed out. "We cannot allow for that to be compromised, not until we have figured out a way to regain contact with Zordon."

"How can you be talking like that?" Kimberly burst out. "Jason is _dead_ and you're just talking like… like… I don't even know!"

Zack got up and grabbed her hand. "We'll figure it out somehow," he told her.

"Billy, do you have anything in your lab that might be able to help us re-establish contact with Zordon?" Trini asked. "We spent so much time trying to find Jason that we'd been neglecting our other responsibility."

"Not _enough_ time," Zack said sullenly.

"I did everything that I could!" Billy snapped at him, whirling around to face Zack, his face contorted with rage. "Unfortunately this time my best just… it wasn't enough. And he's dead because I wasn't good enough!"

Trini took Billy's hand and squeezed it gently. "It wasn't your fault," she said softly. "This isn't any of our faults. This is Rita's fault, and Goldar's."

The other Rangers all nodded. Trini was right, as usual. Kimberly squeezed Zack's hand again. "So what do we do now?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm going to go back to my lab and see if I can locate anything that might be of use to us," Billy said. "While I do that it might be for the best if the rest of you take care of Jason's body."

He teleported out in a streak of blue, and Kimberly tried not to be upset with him. Billy was the only one of them who had actually dealt with death before. This was just his way.

"We can't just leave Jason lying there," Kimberly said. "What are we supposed to do?" She was proud that her voice only shook a little bit. They couldn't afford to be distracted right now, even with death.

"There's a room in the back," Trini said. "We can move his… his body there, until we decide."

"I'll do it," Zack said. "I can't stand to just leave him there any longer." He carefully lifted up Jason's body, and carried him to the other room. When he returned, his face was stained with tears.

"Billy to the Command Center," Billy's voice came from the speakers. Kimberly and the others all glanced over at the viewing globe out of habit, but it was still filled with static.

"Go ahead, Billy," Trini said. She seemed to have taken charge. Not that Kimberly minded. Trini had always been good at that – she had always been the one who organized where they were going and what they were doing, making sure that everyone got where they were supposed to be.

"I think that I may have found a way to bring Zordon back, but it's going to take me a while. If one of you could teleport me –" He cut off midsentence, and there was a crash. They could hear Billy screaming, and the sounds of a struggle.

"Teleport him out," Zack hissed, and Trini frantically tried, but the console was still unresponsive. The sounds finally stopped, and nobody was sure whether or not that was a good thing.

"Billy?" Trini said in concern. "Billy, are you okay?"

A familiar mocking laugh came over the communicator.

"Goldar," Zack growled. "What did you do to Billy?"

"That's two Rangers down, Power Brats," Goldar told them. "And with Rita's Green Ranger on our side, I'm sure that the three of you will soon follow."

Zack slammed his fist into a console.

"Billy," Trini said, tears silently streaming down her face.

"You're going to pay for this, Goldar!" Kimberly swore at him.

Goldar just laughed. "That's what you think, Pink Ranger. My Mistress has a special plan for you."

"Go to hell," Kimberly snapped.

"One of us will," Goldar agreed, and then the line went dead.

"Maybe Billy is still alive?" Kimberly asked hesitantly. "I mean, Goldar could have captured him or something."

"Maybe," Zack said, but he didn't sound that convinced of it.

An alarm went off, the sirens in the Command Center blaring at full blast.

"Does anyone know how to shut them off?" Zack said. None of them were really that great with the technological stuff. Billy was – Billy had been. But usually Alpha or Zordon had controlled all of this.

"I might be able to figure out what it is," Trini said hesitantly. "Billy had been showing me." She moved over to one of the control panels that Billy hadn't cracked open during his quest to try and bring Zordon back and locate Jason, and began to fiddle around with the controls. The klaxons finally shut down.

"I might be able to bring up the viewing globe just enough that we might be able to see what the problem is, but it's going to take a lot of power," Trini offered finally. "I'm not sure that we'll be able to teleport out."

"We can take the Radbug if it comes to that," Zack said. "But we still have a responsibility to Angel Grove." There was a conviction in his voice, and Kimberly knew that he had to be aching for some revenge on Goldar for what he had done to Jason, and to Billy.

"Okay then," Trini said, and the three remaining Rangers turned to face the viewing globe, as they had done so many times before.

"That's the evil Green Ranger," Zack said. "He's attacking at the harbor district."

"There's a lot of people in that part of the city," Trini observed. She flicked a switch and the viewing globe shut down.

"We should still have enough power for one last teleport, but getting back here will be a problem."

"Okay, then," Zack said. "It's morphin time!" The three of them reached for their morphers, and in three brilliant flashes of light and the cries of their respective dinosaurs – Mastodon, Pterodactyl and the Sabre-Toothed Tiger – they were transformed into the Power Rangers.

"Back to the action," Zack said grimly, and soon the three of them rematerialized down at the harbor district.

Goldar, the Green Ranger, and a horde of putties were all there. None of them had grown yet, and that was something at least. Kimberly didn't think that they would be able to summon the Megazord with only three of them, and she wasn't really sure how well they would be able to do against two opponents even if they could. She wondered if the Green Ranger had a Zord. He was a Ranger, so she was sure he did.

"I've got Goldar," Zack said angrily. "Trini, you want to take the Green Ranger? That leaves the putties to Kim."

"Right," the two girls agreed. Kimberly knew why they were leaving her the putties –she had always been one of the worst fighters on the team. Her gymnastics skills had more than compensated, but she should have tried harder, she should have learned more from Jason. If they lived through this fight, she was going to work more on it so that she would be better able to help. They couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

Kimberly made her way through the putties, a whirlwind of punches and kicks. She dodged out of the way of one putty, and flipped over so that she was in the center of another group, knocking three out at once. She could see Zack and Trini were barely holding their own, and could see a new monster, one that she hadn't seen before teleport in.

"Trini!" she yelled. "Watch out for the scorpion lady!" Her warning wasn't fast enough, though, as the woman in the golden armor hit Trini in the back with her sword. Trini fell, and her powers faded as they did, leaving Trini's limp body lying on the street, her yellow sweater ripped and stained with blood.

The new arrival made her way over to where Zack was fighting Goldar, and Kimberly barely even noticed what was happening with her last remaining teammate as she came face to face with the Green Ranger.

"Hello, Beautiful," he said almost conversationally as he thrust at her with his sword. "Goldar said that he told you that our Empress had special plans for you. She's agreed to give you to me."

"Never," Kimberly vowed as she brought her bow up to block his sword. He was good, probably even better than Jason was. She leapt out of the way, knowing that her agility was by far her best asset in this fight. If she could just hold out a little bit longer then maybe she could get away.

Her next leap had her landing facing Zack, and as she saw his body lying on the ground, unmoving, with blood drying over his cheek. Like Trini, he had lost his morph.

"You've lost, Kimberly," the Green Ranger told her. "Just surrender."

"Never!" Kimberly said defiantly, shooting an arrow at him. She never saw if it hit, because everything went dark.


	2. Angela

_October 1st, 1994_

Angela made her way to the center of the reinforced Youth Center and Juice Bar, now the nerve center of the rebellion against Empress Rita. In another life, she would probably be in this building, working out or volunteering with a bunch of kids from Angel's Haven. She still did that now – there were a lot of orphans that needed to be looked after since the Power Rangers had died, since Rita Repulsa had proclaimed herself to be the Empress of Earth.

"Angela!" Justin said as he made his way over to her side. The ten-year-old had been her near-constant shadow since the beginnings of the rebellion. He was a smart kid, and he helped keep the higher-ups in the rebellion informed with what was going on among the various non-combatants who the rebellion were trying to protect.

"What do you have for me today, Justin?" she asked.

"There are people wondering if we're going to do anything to mark the first anniversary," Justin said, not quite meeting her eyes. "I mean, as a way to honor the dead, especially the Power Rangers. And, well, you were closest to them, so I thought I should mention it to you."

Angela closed her eyes for a second, and tried to keep her emotions under control. It had been almost a year, after all, and breaking down in tears in the middle of the hallway wouldn't be good for anyone. Besides, there were more productive ways to channel her sadness, and her anger. She hadn't broken down when they first found out, and she wouldn't break down now at the mention of the name.

_October 7, 1993_

"Why are there only three Rangers?" Angela wondered as she watched the battle. Most of the teens in the Youth Center were huddled around the television. The Power Rangers had been around for over a month already, but seeing them battle the forces of evil or monsters or invading space aliens or whatever people were saying it was at the moment was still considered a treat. It wasn't every town that got to see real live superheroes. Angel Grove was special.

"I don't know," Ernie said, his eyes fixed on the Pink Ranger, who was locked in combat with the Green Ranger. "It looks like they're having a pretty hard time of it."

"Who's the other villain?" Veronica wondered. "I don't think we've seen her before."

"Rita must have gotten more allies," Ernie said with a shrug. "Hopefully the Red and Blue Rangers will get there soon." He glanced over at the gathering crowd, and spoke a little bit louder so that everyone in the Youth Center could hear them. "I'm sure that they're off creating some sort of device that will stop the attacking monsters. The Power Rangers have never let us down be…" he trailed off suddenly, and Angela turned back to look at the screen.

The Yellow Ranger had fallen to the ground, the new villain having stabbed her in the back, and as she fell her costume melted away.

That couldn't be.

Angela _knew_ her. Went to school with her. She had always assumed that the Power Rangers were aliens as well – she had even heard Jason say so at one point. Or maybe they could have been college students who had stumbled across an ancient power. She had never thought that it could have been students her own age.

And now Trini Kwan was dead. Trini was a _Power Ranger_. She had been protecting Angel Grove while Angela had been doing…. What? Nothing? Watching kids, and just dealing with typical high school drama.

The whole Youth Center was oddly quiet. There should have been the sounds of talking. Even during the first fight, before the Power Rangers had appeared, people had talked while the sirens had gone off. Even that awful reporter, Jimmy Jameson, wasn't saying anything.

Angela's mind was going a thousand miles a minute. If Trini was the Yellow Ranger, that explained why she was always wearing yellow. It really wasn't all that flattering a color on her. Angela had just thought that Trini had lost her mind or something, but even Kimberly Hart, fashion queen of Angel Grove High hadn't commented on it.

Kimberly wore pink all the time now. And if she was…. Then that must mean…

Angela realized that Zack must be the Black Ranger just in time to watch as Goldar stabbed him with the sword. Someone screamed Zack's name, and it took her a minute to realize that it was her voice.

_October 1st, 1994_

"We probably should do something," she agreed. "Most of us are here because of the Rangers, and I don't think that there's anyone left who hasn't lost a friend or family member that they want to honor. That's a really good idea, Justin."

"I'm just passing it on," he said with a shrug. "Do you think that they'll let me fight? I'm ten now." He looked so proud and hopeful. "And you know I've got karate experience."

"You know the rules," Angela said. "We're just trying to keep you safe." She gave him an encouraging glance. "Besides, you help out in a lot of other ways."

"I know," Justin said. He glanced around, and not seeing anyone else, he spoke really quietly. "You want to hear something stupid?" he asked.

"If you want to tell me," Angela said, as she continued walking towards the Juice Bar that served as the nerve center of the resistance.

"I thought maybe I could be a Power Ranger one day," Justin said wistfully. "I'm not the only one – Fred said the same thing. He wanted to be the Gold Ranger."

Angela smiled at him. She had never even thought about being a Power Ranger, but she could understand why he would have wanted to. "When I was your age," she told him, "I wanted to be Wonder Woman."

Justin smiled back at her as they reached the doors to the Juice Bar. He knew he wasn't allowed in.

"Go talk to Fred," Angela said. "See what else you two can come up with."

*

When she got inside, the other members of her team were waiting. It wasn't precisely her team – she may have been one of the ones to start the resistance, but Adam Park had a much better head for strategy than she did, and she tended to defer to him for that. And of course, Ernie was in charge of everything, although he never actually went out on missions.

Adam was sitting in one of the remaining chairs, with his girlfriend Aisha Campbell perched beside him. She was glancing worriedly at him, and Angela made a note that she should ask Aisha about that later. Adam was a brilliant strategist; he knew all of Rita's moves, and already had plans to fight them. He fidgeted in his chair slightly, and Aisha put a hand on his arm, trying to project an aura of calm out onto him. It was a familiar sight, one that Angela had seen a lot in the last six months, ever since Adam had escaped from one of Rita's labor camps.

Rocky DeSantos, Adam and Aisha's best friend, paced nervously behind them, a bundle of nerves and restless energy. His gaze darted around the Youth Center, keeping a running tally of all possible exits and escape routes, and his eyes had the haunted look of all recent camp escapees. He had only been free for a month or so, but Adam and Aisha had both vouched for him, and he had quickly been incorporated into their team.

The last member was Eugene Skullovitch. The bully formerly known as Skull, now known as Gene, had been one of the earliest members of the rebellion, and he had become a good friend over the last year. He was perched on a stool at the end of the bar, leaning back. Unlike the others, he looked far more relaxed. Gene hadn't spent any time in the camps, and it showed. He still had an air of nervousness about him, but he didn't have the same exhaustion and pain in his eyes that Adam and Rocky did.

"You're late," Adam observed, not moving from his seat.

"I had to speak to Justin," Angela said, taking a seat next to Gene. "He wanted to talk about the anniversary."

"You too?" Gene said, a note of surprise. "Fred came to talk to me earlier."

"We do need to do something."

"I've already started to make plans for it," Ernie said, as he took his familiar place behind the counter. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you've both done enough for this rebellion without having to plan that. And I've got something else for you to do."

"Thanks, Ernie," Angela said. "So what is it?"

Ernie's smile disappeared, and he was suddenly all business. It was a look that Angela had seen far too often in the last year.

_October 7th, 1993_

Ernie reached around the bar to grab Angela's hand. "Calm down," he told her urgently. "You're scaring the kids."

"But they're _dead_," Angela said, struggling to keep her breathing under control. "Zack is dead."

There was a wail going around the Youth Center as people began to cry. Some people were running for the pay phones in the corner, trying to call their families. Everyone was sobbing.

"Angela?" Justin asked hesitantly. "Are the Power Rangers really dead, like my Mom?"

Angela tried not to cry. She was Justin's big sister in the program, and she needed to be strong for him now.

"I think so," she said.

"But that was Zack, and Trini!" Justin said. "They're friends with my sensei! Do you think Jason is a Power Ranger, too?"

"If Trini and Zack are… were…" Angela said as a moment, deliberately keeping her eyes away from the television. "Then yes, I'm fairly sure that he is."

"Look!" someone shouted, pointing at the tv, and Angela couldn't help but look. At least it wasn't still Zack's body laying there, she couldn't bear to look at him any longer. All of the times that he had run out on her on a date suddenly made sense. All of the excuses he'd made – he had been covering up for something. It just hadn't been what she'd thought.

The room got quiet again, as they saw that Rita Repulsa herself had appeared on Earth, standing over the fallen bodies of the Black and Yellow Rangers. There was no sign of the Pink Ranger, of Kimberly – the last that Angela had noticed, she was fighting the Green Ranger. Angela could only assume that she was dead.

"Hahahahaha," the witch laughed, as Goldar and the woman stood beside her. "Attention, people of Earth! After ten thousand years of imprisonment, I have now conquered Earth! Soon my putties and my monsters will spread throughout your cities. If you resist me, you will be destroyed!"

There was a flash of green, and the other Ranger, the evil Green one appeared beside her. With a shimmer, he demorphed.

The Green Ranger was human.

"Isn't that the new kid?" someone asked. "The one Jason sparred in the tournament?"

"What are we going to do?" one of the other students asked. "We can't just surrender!"

"But they just killed the Power Rangers," someone else yelled. "If they could do that, what are they going to do to us?"

"We can't surrender," Angela heard herself say, as she stood up.

"Go on," Ernie said encouragingly.

"Those were our friends, our classmates," she said, taking a deep breath. "And you're right, they did just give up their lives for us. But is this how we're going to repay their sacrifice?" The words kept on pouring out, and she knew that this was the right thing for her to do. "We can't give up, don't you see? If we let Rita win, then why did they even bother to fight for us? They were only our age – younger than some of us here. If they could fight for Earth, then so should we!"

There was a rumble of agreement from around the room.

"But they had powers," Veronica protested. "We don't."

"There are more of us," Angela said firmly. "But we need to work quickly. You heard what the witch said – we need to start preparing, try to figure out a way to resist, before her monsters get here."

"That's right," Ernie said. "Angela has a point. Everyone needs to go and run home, but go in groups. Gather everything you can in terms of supplies. Find your families, and then come back here. The Juice Bar is pretty defensible."

"How do you know?" Raymond asked.

"Ex-marine," Ernie said with a shrug, his smile fading from his face and a grim expression replacing it. He looked more serious and more determined than Angela had ever seen him, and it was hard to reconcile that look with the jovial man that she had come to know. "I'm prepared for anything."

"Go on," Angela said, her voice ringing out. "We are not giving up yet."

A faint cheer went up around the Youth Center as the beginnings of the rebellion went out to try to prepare for the coming battle.

_October 1st, 1994_

"There's something out in the desert," Ernie said without much of a preamble, as he gestured to the maps that he had laid down on the bar. "Rita and that new husband of hers are definitely guarding something. I want you five to try and figure out what it is that they're guarding."

"Go into the desert?" Adam said skeptically. "Just the five of us? Are you kidding me?"

Ernie held up a hand. "I know that it's dangerous, but whatever Rita is guarding could be of great importance. Or if she's looking for something, then we can't let her have it. This could be important – it could be the start of the end of this war."

Adam shut up. Angela knew that Ernie was right, but she could see Adam's point. The desert was firmly in Rita's territory, and they wouldn't have a lot of cover.

"We'll do it," she said.

Adam snorted. "Going to make another speech?" he asked.

"If I need to," Angela shot back.

Aisha whacked Adam lightly on the side of his head. "Quit it," she told him. "You know we need to do it."

"Yeah," Adam said. "I'm just not looking forward to being back in that desert."

"You've been there before?" Ernie asked.

Adam nodded. "Once," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "With _Her_."

Ernie sighed. "I hate asking you this, I really do," he said. "But if there's anything you can remember about that desert, we need to know about it."

"I'll have a plan in the morning," Adam said.

"Good," Ernie said. "Because you all leave tomorrow afternoon."


	3. Gene

Chapter 3 – Gene

_October 2nd, 1994_

Gene made his way to the Juice Bar, snagging some coffee on his way. He didn't know where Ernie managed to get his supplies from, but then again he wasn't one of the people assigned to gather. The team he was on was strictly intelligence. (Okay, that meant that they did occasionally go look for supply details, but they were more involved in figuring out what Rita's forces were up to.)

Some of the others got out of his way, and he made a face. Even a year later, he still had a reputation as a bully. It didn't matter that he had changed as much as everyone else had since Rita had taken over, there were still plenty of people who saw him as nothing more than Skull, the bully.

But being known as a bully did have its advantages, he had to admit. At least people got out of his way when he wanted some coffee.

Aisha and Angela were already waiting when he got there. Aisha also had a mug, and she looked worried.

"Where are Rocky and Adam?" Gene asked.

"Rocky's trying to calm Adam down," Aisha said, her voice strangely flat. "Apparently I'm incapable of helping this morning."

"That isn't fair," Angela said. "You know Adam depends on you."

"I do," Aisha said. "And I wasn't in the camps like they were." She rubbed her eyes, and then took another sip of her coffee. "Ernie, I'm not really sure that bringing them along is a good idea. If Adam has a flashback out in the desert…"

"I'll manage," Adam said from behind them. He was glaring at Aisha, who ignored it.

"Mmhmm," she said noncommittally, "If you're sure."

"He'll be fine, Sha," Rocky said, speaking up for the first time. His eyes darted about the room. "You know we wouldn't lie about that."

Aisha nodded, although she didn't look entirely convinced.

Ernie cleared his throat. "Okay, what do you have for me, Adam?"

"I don't remember a lot of it," Adam said, his voice flat and even as he crossed the room to sit between Aisha and Rocky. "I was pretty… out of it for most of the time I was there. But I remember being taken to see the ruins out there. Rita wanted something from there, and sent Scorpina to get it, but I don't remember what they were looking for. I think that whatever it was belonged to the Power Rangers."

Everyone waited, but Adam just shrugged. It really wasn't a lot to go on, and after all the drama, Gene had hoped that Adam would have been able to provide more information than that.

"That's more than what we knew before," Ernie said after a long pause. "Do you think you'll be able to find your way back to those ruins?"

Adam hesitated, and then nodded. "Once I'm in the general area, anyway," he said. "I was teleported in, so I have no idea how to get there from here."

"This is going to suck," Gene muttered.

"You think?" Aisha snapped. "Nobody said this was going to be easy."

"It never is," Gene said. "I know."

*

They set out a few hours later, each of them carrying a pack with basic supplies – some food and water, and a weapon of some sort. They all carried guns, of course, but it was really hard to fight one of Rita's henchmen with just a gun, so they had all been trained with different kinds of swords. It was one of the reasons they made such an effective team.

Making their way through the streets of Angel Grove wasn't as difficult as it could have been. They had all been doing this for a while, and Angela and Gene knew the streets and hidden ways better than anyone. Normally they wouldn't have been as nervous about running into Rita's putties – they were fairly easy to defeat. But ever since Rita had gotten married to the Emperor of Evil himself, Lord Zedd, the putties had been given an upgrade, and the team hadn't yet figured out a way to defeat them. As well, tipping off Rita at all for this mission would probably have been more trouble than it was worth, and Gene knew better than to risk getting Adam involved in a confrontation with Scorpina.

They cut through a few buildings, and they finally made it into the park. Going through the park was the fastest way to make it to the desert, but it was always a big risk. Rita used the park as a training ground for her monsters, before she sent them out to raid and conquer the few remaining pockets of resistance.

"This way," Gene said. "There's a shortcut that most people don't know about. It leads through to the quarry. From there we should be able to cut up north. I don't think Rita is using it yet."

"When's the last time you went this way?" Rocky asked.

"It's been a while," Gene said.

_October 8th, 1993_

"I don't know about this, Bulk!" Skull said. "I mean, maybe we should go back to the Youth Center with the others."

"No, Skull," Bulk said, as he continued to cut through the park. "You saw what the Green Ranger did to the Power Rangers. They're all dead, and we _need_ to get out of here."

"Can you believe that those dweebs were the Power Rangers?" Skull said half-heartedly. It sounded like something that he thought he should be saying, but a small part of him was impressed. He knew that he'd liked Kimberly, and now to find out that she really was something special…. Well, that was something.

"And look where that got them!" Bulk said. "They're all dead. If we stay there with Angela's rebellion thing, then we'll probably be dead too!"

"You're right, Bulkie," Skull agreed. He wasn't sure if they were doing the right thing – maybe they should be fighting. He really didn't want to die though. He was too young for that. And if the Power Rangers could die, then what chance did they have of living?

"This way," Bulk said as he looked around. He started to head into the park.

"I thought we were going to go towards Hasper City," Skull said. "Why are we going north?"

"This way is north, dim wit," Bulk told him. "I know where I'm going."

"Okay, Bulkie." Skull didn't press it. Bulk knew what he was doing. Bulk would take care of him.

_October 2nd, 1994_

"I'm glad that you knew about this shortcut," Aisha said. "I wasn't really looking forward to dodging putties in the park."

"Same here," Skull said. "It's too bad Rita gained control of the park so early. The trees would have made pretty good cover."

"At least the putties stand out pretty well. You'd think she'd have figured out a way to have them blend in."

"Don't even suggest that, Adam!" Angela scolded. "We have enough trouble with the new Z-Putties. We really don't need to give Rita any more advantages."

Adam shrugged as he made his way over a rock. "I'm just saying, that's what I would do if I was in charge."

Rocky laughed, one of the first genuine laughs that Gene had ever heard from him. It was a harsh sound, and he could remember Aisha telling him once that Rocky had used to be the prankster of the group, with his laughter as the driving force. Just another thing that Rita had taken from them.

"Good thing you aren't, then," he said. "Don't know how it would be if we had to go up against you."

"Where to next, Gene?" Aisha asked.

He looked around, trying to remember which way they had gone. "If we go down that cliff, we should make it," he told her.

"Go down the cliff?" Adam asked skeptically. "We really need to scale it?"

"There's a ledge that makes it a lot easier to get down," Gene answered. "We found it by accident."

_October 8th, 1993_

"Run!" Skull shouted, as the putties appeared from out of nowhere.

"What are we going to do now?" Bulk said, as they came upon a cliff. "We need to get out of here."

"I don't know how to fight them," Skull said. "Come on, Bulkie, you have to have some sort of idea!"

"Run?" Bulk suggested.

"Where?" Skull asked, as the putties surrounded them, their dance growing more and more menacing as they closed in on him. He took a step back involuntarily, and then winced as he realized that they were getting closer to the edge of the cliff.

"We could jump?" Bulk suggested.

Skull laughed nervously. "Gee, Bulkie, I don't know. That's a long way down."

The first of the putties made its way towards them.

"Looks like we don't have a choice!" Bulk shouted, and the two of them turned and ran for the cliff.

"Look!" Bulk shouted. There was a narrow path along the sides of the cliff. The two of them began to run down. It was a hard path, and both of them were breathing heavily. This was harder than it looked.

Skull paused to catch his breath, and he turned around only to see that a few of the putties had tumbled off of the cliff. He watched them fall and land with a satisfying splat.

"Come on!" Bulk urged him. "We're almost to the bottom."

_October 2nd, 1994_

"You're seriously telling me that Bulk managed to get down this way?" Angela said in disbelief.

Gene shrugged. "You can do a lot of things when you're running for your life."

In single file, the five of them managed to make it all the way down to the bottom of the cliff. By the time they did, it was starting to get dark.

"There's no way we should cross the rest of this at night," Aisha said flatly. "Not if most of us don't know the way."

"There's a cave about a quarter of a mile away," Gene told them. "I stayed in it for a few days the last time I was here."

_October 10th, 1993_

"We need to go at some point," Bulk said. "We've run out of food."

"Well, where are we supposed to go?" Skull demanded. "We can't go back up that cliff, and if we keep going this way we're going to head straight into the desert."

"I don't know yet!" Bulk shouted back at him. "I can't believe those dweebs had to go and get themselves killed, or else we wouldn't be in this situation."

"You don't actually mean that," Skull said.

Bulk sighed. "No, I don't. I just can't believe they're dead, and that _they_ were the Power Rangers."

"Me neither," Skull said. "Maybe we shouldn't have been so mean to them."

"Maybe you're right," Bulk agreed. "But it doesn't matter now. What matters is getting out of here so that we can find something to eat."

"Yeah," Skull said. "At least we found this cave. Rita and the Green Ranger haven't found us yet."

"We'll leave in the morning," Bulk decided. "We don't have any other choice."

_October 2nd, 1994_

"You okay?" Rocky said, as he sat down next to Gene.

They had finally managed to get a fire going, but the cave was still pretty damp and uncomfortable. That might have just been Gene's imagination though. There were a lot of memories associated with this cave.

"I'm fine," he said.

Rocky just looked at him. "I hear that from Adam a lot," he said, momentarily glancing over to where Adam and Aisha were sitting. "For that matter, they hear me say that a lot."

"Yeah," Gene said. "Sorry, it's just… this cave brings back a lot of memories. The last time I was here was right after the invasion."

"Been a bad year for everyone," Rocky agreed, and Gene felt momentarily guilty for being so melodramatic. That was the thing – no matter how hard the last year had been for him, there were always others who had had it worse.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"Don't apologize," Rocky said. "I didn't say it to upset you. Just stating a fact." He sat there for a moment. "You want to tell me about it?"

"This was where Bulk spent his last night alive," Gene said. "I just… I wonder what he would say if he could see me now."

"He was your best friend, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm sure he'd be proud of what you've been doing," Rocky said. "Just like I'm proud of what Adam and Aisha have accomplished. And I'm sure that they're proud of me, for still being here, after everything."

"Thanks," Gene told him, trying to project everything he felt into that one syllable.

"Any time," Rocky said. He looked exhausted, and there was a lot of pain in his eyes. "I'm going to try and get some sleep," Rocky said. "Big day tomorrow and all."

"Yeah," Gene agreed. "Hopefully it'll go better than the last time did."

_October 11th, 1993_

"I'm telling you, we need to go this way," Bulk said.

"Are you sure? I think that's back towards the desert," Skull said. "We passed by those rocks almost an hour ago."

"I know what I'm doing," Bulk told him. "If we just keep on going…." He trailed off as they heard an unfamiliar noise. They both turned around, and they saw the Green Ranger standing right before them.

"Oh, keep going," the Green Ranger told them. "Please, I was really enjoying your argument."

Skull turned to start to run, but when he turned around Goldar was standing behind him.

"Don't even think about it, human," the big gold monkey said menacingly. "I haven't killed anyone in almost an hour, and I'd really like to kill the both of you."

"I don't think so," the Green Ranger said.

"Thank you!" Bulk said.

Skull wasn't sure why the Green Ranger was defending them, but he had a feeling it wasn't something that he was going to enjoy.

"Oh, you shouldn't be thanking me yet," the Green Ranger said, as he powered down.

Skull's face fell as he realized who the Green Ranger was. This guy had beaten them once before.

"You see," Tommy said menacingly as he walked up to them. "You annoyed me before I got these powers, and I thought that it would be more fun for me to beat you without them."

He still had his sword and dagger in hand. For some reason they hadn't faded away with the rest of his powers.

"Look, man, we didn't mean anything!" Bulk protested. He took a step forward.

"Bulkie, no!" Skull yelled, but not fast enough, as the Green Ranger brought up his sword.

Skull couldn't watch. Bulk just stood there, with the Green Ranger's sword through his chest.

"No," he repeated again.

"You can go and run if you want, human," Goldar said. "Why don't you let us chase you?"

Skull did the only thing that he could – he started to run. And he kept running until he felt that his feet were going to give out under him. He wasn't sure how long he had been running, but it didn't look like anyone was chasing him. He eventually made his way back to the cave, where he collapsed on the ground to cry.

Bulk was dead, and as far as Skull was concerned, he had gone with Bulk.

_October 3rd, 1994_

They headed out of the cave at dawn. Gene took point now, since he knew the area best of anyone. They had been lucky so far, there hadn't been any sign of the putty patrol. But that couldn't last forever.

"How much farther?" Adam asked, tension fairly radiating off of him.

"Not looking forward to that desert, huh?" Gene asked.

"You aren't the only one who has bad memories associated with this trip," Adam said. "Frankly, I'll be glad when it's done and we get back to base."

"Do you think that there's something in there that will stop Rita?"

"If there was, I'm sure that she's destroyed it already," Adam said grimly. "But we'll have to check it out anyway."

"We should be at the desert soon," Gene said after a moment longer. "If I'm right, then it should be right around this bend."

He was right, which was nice at least. But right now, he wished that he had been wrong.

"Putties!" Adam shouted, as the patrollers started coming at them. "Everyone, get into formation!"

The group of five spread out, getting into the set-up that they had practiced for so long, a circle with their backs to each other.

Gene's fist swung into one of the putties jaws, and it fell back into a tree. He didn't have time to watch, as he dodged another one's kick. He saw Aisha flipping out of the way as one putty stabbed at her, and Rocky sent another one flying. This would have been enough to stop the old putties, but these new ones were tough.

Gene's kick caught the next putty directly on the Z shield on its chest, and he watched in shock as the putty began to disintegrate. He blinked. It couldn't actually be that simple. He threw a punch directly at the shield of the next putty, and it blew up as well.

"You guys!" he yelled. "Aim directly for the Z!"

"Right," Adam yelled, and he elbowed the next putty he saw. "You know, it is nice of them to give us a target now," he said grimly.

Something that sounded like flute music played in the background, and another set of Putties appeared.

"You have got to be kidding me," Adam muttered. "What the hell was that?"

"That sounded like the Green Ranger," Angela said. "Doesn't he usually have some of music around him?"

"Yeah, but where does it come from?" Aisha asked. "I never heard of the Rangers having a theme song."

"Whatever it is, I'm betting that's how he summons the putties, and maybe other things," Gene said, as he hit another putty in the Z. "Do you think we can use that?"

"When we get back to Angel Grove, we'll take it to Ernie," Angela said, forestalling any other discussion. "For now, let's just fight."


	4. Aisha

Aisha followed behind Adam as they made their way into the desert. She was a little bit worried about him, but then again, there hadn't really been a moment over the last year that she hadn't been worried about him and Rocky.

"How many miles is it to this place?" she asked.

"I teleported in," Adam said shortly. "I don't really remember."

"I know that this is hard, but don't you _dare_ take it out on me," she told him.

He softened slightly. "I know," he told her. "And I'm sorry. I'm just trying not to remember."

"I think it would be better if we all could forget," she said softly.

"Too bad that isn't possible," Adam answered.

"Maybe one day it will be," Aisha said. "And then we can start over, and go back to our lives as if none of this had ever happened.

"There's not very much cover out here," Angela observed. "But from the map, we should probably be there by the end of the day, if we keep going."

"And if we don't run into any more Putties, or worse," Aisha added.

"A fight is the last thing we need out here," Adam said. "You would think that this desert would be less mountainous."

"Angel Grove has always been the center of weird geography," Gene said. "I mean, even before all of this."

"Less talking," Adam said. "We don't want to attract any more attention." His eyes kept darting to the northeast.

"What's out that way?" Aisha said.

"A camp," Adam answered. "I spent some time there."

It was the first time Aisha had heard Adam say the word camps without his voice shaking.

"How many are being held in that one?" Angela asked.

Adam shrugged. "It was the first camp I was in," he said. "It's been so long now, my information is probably really out of date. Most of the camp was dead within the first few weeks," he continued. "I don't know if they added more people after. I wasn't there for that long anyway."

_October 7th, 1993_

Aisha sat on Rocky's couch, eyes glued to the TV screen.

"How can the Power Rangers be dead?" Adam asked. "I mean, they're the _Power Rangers_."

"They looked like they were our age," Rocky said softly, none of his customary good humor in his tone. "Can you believe it?"

"Rita can't actually be taking over the world," Aisha said. "I mean, where is the Army? Shouldn't someone be coming in to stop them now?"

"What is the army supposed to do against those things?" Adam asked. "I mean, if the Power Rangers couldn't beat them, what is a regular army supposed to do?"

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough," Rocky said suddenly. The Air Force had just arrived.

Rita just laughed. "Goldar, Scorpina!" she shouted. "Grow!" She held up her wand, and the two villains grew to a tremendous height, Scorpina losing her human form and turning into a horrible monster as they did so.

The two monsters seemed incredibly unconcerned by the invading Air Force, and in only a few seconds the two giants had smashed the planes into bits.

"Well, that was no good," Aisha muttered. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Rocky!" his mother said as she burst into the room. "You and your friends need to hurry. Everyone is packing up and leaving."

"Are you sure?" Rocky asked. "I mean, where are we going to go?"

"Somewhere not here," his mother said firmly. "We're way too close to Angel Grove right now for my liking."

"Where are we supposed to go?" Aisha said.

"I just finished talking to both of your parents," Mrs. DeSantos answered. "The whole group of us are going to caravan out together. We'll head out of California, and then we'll see what happens. Hopefully we'll get far enough away that we'll be safe."

"Where are we supposed to go that will be safe?" Adam said. "I mean, you saw those things. If the Army can't beat them, and the Rangers are all, you know, do you really think that there's anywhere safe for us?"

"You three shouldn't worry about all of that," Mrs. DeSantos said. "Don't worry, we'll keep all of you safe." She turned to Aisha. "You guys should head on home, your families are waiting for you. We're going to meet back here in half an hour. Bring only what you really need."

"Sure thing," Aisha agreed. "Don't worry about us."

*

The caravan pulled into a gas station. They hadn't gone nearly as far as they should, since Adam's family needed to stop for gas. Aisha got out of her car, and knocked on Rocky's window. His two younger siblings were curled up against him, and he shook his head. Aisha nodded – there was no real way for him to move without moving them, and he wasn't going to try.

Instead, she went and let herself into Adam's car.

"Hi, Mr. Park," she said to Adam's dad, as she settled into the backseat next to Adam.

"Hello, Aisha," he said. He looked exhausted, and Aisha looked quizzically at Adam.

"Dad's not handling this well," Adam said quietly. "He didn't want to leave, he kept saying that the authorities would handle it somehow, but Mom overruled him."

"It's probably a good thing," Aisha agreed. She glanced behind them, at the large cloud of smoke that was coming from where Stone Canyon had previously been. They had gotten out just in time, it looked like, and Aisha was sure that plenty of other families were probably wishing they had left. She hoped that everyone would be okay. She had called Shawna before they left, and amazingly had been able to get through after a bunch of busy signals. But Shawna and her family hadn't been interested in leaving. Not yet, anyway. Shawna's parents had said that Rita would probably be too busy conquering Angel Grove to get to Stone Canyon yet, and they were sure that someone would stop it before it got too far.

"Don't look back," Adam said quietly. "Right now we just have to keep going forward. We can mourn later."

"You think Shawna and the others got out?"

Adam shrugged. "We'll find out," he said finally. "I'm nervous about cutting so close to Angel Grove, but the radio was saying that Hasper City should be safe."

"Aisha," her parents called. "Get back in the car. We're ready to leave again."

"Later," Aisha said to Adam, as she ran back into her parents' Sedan and buckled her seat belt. Her family's car pulled out first, followed by the DeSantos', and finally the Parks.

_October 3rd, 1994_

They walked in silence for a while, Aisha and the others all keeping a careful eye out for any monsters or putties. There were times when Aisha wondered why Rita hadn't just sent down a complete army of her monsters to crush Angel Grove, as she had done to all of the other cities. It had been so long now since they had really heard from any other cities – supposedly there had been other resistance movements at first, but now Angel Grove was the only one left.

The problem with wandering through the desert was that it all looked the same. Well, there were other problems – it was hot, it was dusty, there was no cover, they were all quickly getting dehydrated. And wandering through the desert was boring, but at the same time they needed to pay careful attention to make sure that they were going in the direction that Ernie had marked on their map. Angela was the one with the compass, so as long as they followed her they should be going in the right direction.

"It's supposed to be in those mountains," Angela said. "If we keep going straight ahead, we should be right there. And at least when we get closer it'll provide some shade."

"That sounds about right," Adam said softly from behind her.

Aisha took a moment to glance at Adam. He was looking relatively calm, but she had known him long enough to _know_ that he wasn't doing as well as he claimed. But then again, any mission that would make him deal with his memories of what happened had that potential for disaster. To be fair, that was true for any of them. But she had gotten so used to looking out for both of her boys that she couldn't help but do it more now.

_October 8th, 1993_

"Crap," Aisha said as she stared up ahead of them. "What are we supposed to do now?"

The cars came to a complete halt, and her parents were obviously still so shocked that they didn't bother to yell at her about cursing. But the road ahead of them was filled with Putties.

"Whatever you do, don't get out of the car," her mother said. "Is your door locked?"

"Yes, Mom," Aisha said dutifully, as she pressed down the lock. "So what now?"

"We could try running over them," her father said thoughtfully.

"You'll just kill them?" her mother asked.

"It's them or us!"

While her parents squabbled, Aisha turned around to look at the other cars.

"Mom," she said softly. "Mom!" she repeated again. "Rocky's car! There's a monster!"

Rocky's car was being completely overwhelmed. She watched as the door opened, and Rocky came out, brandishing his younger sibling's baseball bat. He swung it at the monster, which resembled a giant oyster.

"Don't get out of the car, Aisha," her mother said, as she revved the car up.

"But that's Rocky!" Aisha protested. She could see Adam running over to join Rocky. "We have to help them!"

"There's nothing that we can do for them," her mother insisted, and even as Aisha fumbled for the door her mother slammed on the gas, plowing through the monsters.

"No!" Aisha yelled. "We need to go back! We need to save them!" Her father turned around in his seat and grabbed Aisha's arm.

"Don't even think about it," he said. "They're gone. There's nothing that you can do to save them."

Aisha looked back, and she saw Adam fall. Even if they went back, they would only end up captured as well. Her parents had put enough distance between them that she would never make it in time to help.

But she still felt like she should have gotten out of the car. She should have tried to help them.

It was all her fault.

_October 3rd, 1994_

"I think it's a little bit west of here," Adam said suddenly, the first time he'd spoken in a few miles. "I recognize those rocks up ahead." He started to turn left, and Angela relinquished command of the group, as they all began to follow Adam.

Aisha walked a bit faster, enough that she could get over to talk to him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him quietly.

"I'm fine," he repeated, but there was less of an edge to his voice this time. "Really, Sha, I know you're worried, but I really can take care of myself."

"I know you can," Aisha said. "But I look out for you. I need to. Please let me help you."

"You are helping," Adam said, his voice shaking slightly. "More than you know. But right now I'm really okay. I just need to… not focus on what happened the last time I was here."

Aisha nodded, and reached for his hand. Adam flinched slightly at the contact, but then squeezed back before releasing her hand. The two of them walked on in the lead, with the others following behind them, all carefully looking for any intruders. But remarkably, their trip was undisturbed. There hadn't been any signs of putties or monsters or anything else since they had gotten into the desert, but that didn't mean that there weren't any out there, just waiting for them.

Adam stopped suddenly, and Aisha wondered what it was that he'd seen. The others on their team all moved in closer to him, wondering what he'd seen.

"It should be just around that next bend," Adam said, nodding to the ridge that they were nearly at. "If they're going to attack, that's probably where they would do it. That's where I would, anyway."

"Any ideas then?" Angela asked.

"Stay in formation," Adam said. "Keep a look out, and be prepared for a fight. The whole area there is pretty rocky," he glanced over at Rocky and smiled. "No pun intended, I swear."

The group nodded, and reformed. Adam still stayed in the lead, with Angela following close behind him. Aisha took the middle, with Skull behind her and Rocky bringing up the rear. She was one of the stronger fighters in the group, and one of the more versatile ones. This way she could help out whoever needed it, and if the middle was attacked expecting to find the weaker party there, well, they would be in for one hell of a surprise.

They rounded the side of the ridge without incident, and Aisha's jaw dropped slightly when she saw what it was that the Putties were guarding.

_October 12th, 1993_

Aisha was running. Sometimes it felt like all she had done in the last week was run. She was never fast enough, not ever going to be fast enough. She had gotten fairly good at dodging Putties and other monsters. She was tired and hungry, and she was pretty sure she was lost. She'd need to stop soon, but she didn't know where.

She'd lost her parents almost two days ago, when they had been caught by a group of putty patrollers. Aisha had fought her way free, but they hadn't. The last she had seen of her mother had been her being dragged off, while yelling at Aisha to run.

So she had. She had run away again, leaving more people behind her to die or get captured -- and she had no idea what Rita and her monsters were doing to the captured. She had failed her friends, she had failed her family, and she had clearly failed herself.

Angel Grove Park was almost completely abandoned. This hadn't been Aisha's first plan – they had been trying to get far away from it. But all of the roads out of the area were blocked. Stone Canyon was still in flames. She'd been forced deeper and deeper into Angel Grove. At least she could probably hide in the park somewhere – it was fairly big, and maybe she could find some other people around.

She needed to stop for a while. She found a tree and made her way up it, and settled down, glad for all the practice she'd had at climbing to get into the tree fort that she and Rocky and Adam had built.

There was someone sitting up in the tree across from her. He was human, or at least he definitely wasn't a putty. One of Rita's new monsters, the one that had killed the Yellow Ranger, she looked human. And the Green Ranger was human. So this guy could be working for Rita.

"You're not a monster," the guy said in surprise.

"No," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sk… I'm Eugene," he said after a moment's hesitation. Aisha didn't push it. She could understand not wanting to give out a real name, especially when she didn't know who he was or what side he was on. Still, she was going to have to trust someone.

"I'm Aisha," she said.

"You're not from around here," he observed.

She shook her head, balancing carefully among the branches. "I'm from Stone Canyon," she said. "Or I was, anyway. It was burning when I left."

She tried not to think about the last week. She tried not to think of the town that she loved, and the flames she had seen pouring from it.

"I'd say welcome to Angel Grove, but it isn't really that welcoming a place right now," he said grimly. "Look, I need to get some sleep. But after this, I was going to try and head to the Youth Center. They were talking some about rebellion before – I'm going to try and make my way back there and join up."

"I'm in," Aisha told him. "It's not like I had any other plans anyway. Besides," she added, "Rita and the rest of them need to pay for what they did."

_October 3rd, 1994_

There were putties everywhere, and Aisha recognized Squatt and Baboo guarding the ruins. She was surprised that they were being given such an important assignment. The two of them were not really known for being that competent. But it was what they were guarding that was the most interesting.

She hadn't known at all that there were ruins out there. She had no idea what it had been at one point, but it had clearly been something incredible. She could almost see the structure rising up into the sky. But that had been a long time ago, now there were only piles of rocks, with only parts of the base still standing.

"What do you think it was?" she whispered.

"Whatever it is, we need to find out," Adam answered. "But if we try to go in right now, we'll have one hell of a fight on our hands."

"You'll already have a fight on your hands, Rebels!" a voice said from behind them. The five of them whirled around, only to see that Goldar was standing behind them.

"Scatter!" Adam ordered, and the five of them split up in all directions, running into the putties, fists flying. Aisha saw Squatt and Baboo teleport out, and as they left, a piece of parchment dropped to the ground. She leapt after it, doing a dive roll over the kick of one of the putties, fighting her way through the rest of them until she grabbed it. She didn't know what it was, but if it was what the two troublemakers were holding then it had to be something that she and the rest of the rebellion could use.

She tucked the parchment into her belt, and then went back to the fight. The five of them were good, but they were heavily outnumbered.

"Retreat!" she heard Adam yell, even as his kick caused another putty to explode.

"This is a disaster," Gene muttered, when they regrouped safely behind some rocks.

"It might not be," Aisha said as she pulled out the piece of parchment. "Squatt and Baboo dropped this."

As the five of them inspected the parchment, a white light suddenly surrounded them all, and then Aisha knew no more.


	5. Adam

Adam groaned as he woke up. The light had blinded them as soon as Aisha had shown them the piece of parchment. They were still in a desert, but it wasn't the same one they'd been in before, when they were trying to figure out what was up with those ruins.

It wasn't the first time he had woken up in an unfamiliar place. He wasn't going to think about that now. He couldn't think about that now. He groaned, and made it to his knees. The others were all still unconscious. Rocky was closest to him.

"Rocky," he muttered. "C'mon, you need to wake up."

Rocky groaned, and his eyelids fluttered open. "Hey," he whispered. He managed to sit up, albeit it very carefully. Around them the others were starting to stir.

"Where the hell are we?" Angela asked.

"Somewhere else," Adam said with a shrug. "Does it really matter?"

_October 9th, 1993_

"Wake up, humans," the voice growled. Adam woke up with a start. His head ached something fierce. Where was he? The last thing he remembered he had been fighting those putty things, and then he….

Then he….

Oh God.

He remembered the monsters, and the putty that had finally gotten in a lucky shot. He remembered the screams from his family, and he remembered seeing Aisha's family drive off. Then there had only been the monsters.

"I said wake up, humans," the voice repeated, and Adam looked around. He was in a cell with a few other people, none of whom he recognized. He reluctantly got to his feet, following the others out of the cell.

It didn't look like it would be that hard to escape. Their cell, wherever they were, looked as though it had been hastily constructed. If enough of them ran for it, they would be able to get free. He wasn't really sure where they were going to go after, but it was going to be one step at a time.

He followed the others out into a courtyard, keeping an eye out for familiar faces. He was finally rewarded with the sight of Rocky, and Adam edged his way around to stand by him.

"Rocky," he said quietly, as he placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

Rocky flinched, and turned around.

"Adam," he said, his voice filled with pain. "They killed my brother."

Adam flinched back from the agony in Rocky's voice. "I'm sorry about Pablo," he said, because he really didn't know what else he could say or do. He tried not to think of his own parents, or of Aisha and her family. He hoped that wherever they were they were still alive.

"What about Lindsay?" he asked. "And your mom?"

Rocky shrugged. "I haven't seen them," he said, and the amount of pain in his voice made Adam almost wish that he hadn't asked. "Hopefully they're still alive."

"Quit talking, humans," the gold monkey said.

Adam did as he was told for a moment, but as soon as Goldar looked away he leaned in closer to Rocky. "I'm going to try to escape tonight," he said. "Are you in?"

Rocky nodded. "Just tell me the plan."

_October 4th, 1994_

"Where to now?" Adam asked. "If anyone's got any ideas, I'm listening."

"There's a map," Aisha said suddenly. She'd been inspecting the piece of parchment that had brought them all there. "Look, that rock formation totally matches up to this one here, and there's a mark down in that direction."

"So you just want to follow it?" Adam asked skeptically. "I mean, we could be walking right into a trap."

"Or this map could have been what they were looking for," Aisha said defiantly. "I mean, that could be why Squatt and Baboo had it."

Adam sighed. It really wasn't worth arguing with her. Besides, they didn't really have any other ideas.

"Okay," he said after a moment. "Lead on."

"I'm _so_ glad that I have your permission," she said, rolling her eyes. Angela and Gene were both snickering at them, while Rocky didn't even manage a smile. Adam could understand why – he remembered what it had been like for him right after… right after. Rocky hadn't been rescued for that long. He would get better eventually. Adam would see to that.

After all, it was his fault that Rocky was like this.

_October 9th, 1993_

The word spread throughout the humans who were being held in the camp pretty rapidly. Some people were willing to join up in rebellion, others were too busy mourning their loved ones to do anything. Some thought that if they just stayed put and did what they were told then maybe it would be okay, but Adam couldn't believe that. Wouldn't believe that. They needed to fight back – there was no way that they could let a bunch of evil aliens conquer them.

Soon most of the camp (and there were about a thousand people there, going by Adam and Rocky's unofficial headcounts) were looking at the two of them for the escape plans. They were barely sixteen years old, and suddenly they were the leaders of a rebellion. That honestly hadn't been how Adam had expected to spend his sophomore year.

They spent most of the day working on moving rocks around for the invaders. Adam didn't know _why_ Rita needed the land cleared and rocks moved and things built, but he and the others were trying to work as slowly as possible. Someone was spreading the rumor that they were all going to be released as soon as things were built, but Adam didn't believe it. They needed to escape now. Besides, Rita didn't have any right to hold them captive.

As they walked back towards the cells, Adam got a good look at the wall around the camp. He thought that if they all rushed the door then they should be able to escape. They couldn't be that far from safety, or the army, or something. They certainly couldn't be here any longer. Anything had to be better than this

He glanced over at Rocky, who looked back at him and nodded once. Adam took a deep breath.

"Now!" he yelled, and he brought his elbow around to knock over the nearest putty. He saw Rocky fighting on his left, and a lot of the others, mostly teens around his age, were fighting as well. But they were outnumbered, and it seemed like every single time they knocked a putty down, another one would spring up in its place.

The first attempt at rebellion was a complete failure, and Adam found himself thrown facedown in the dirt with a bunch of putties holding on to him.

"Well, well, well," a voice, a female voice said, and Adam managed to raise his head enough to see the monster who had killed the Yellow Ranger. "So this is the leader of this impromptu rebellion?"

The putties who were holding Adam down murmured something in their weird language, and Scorpina shoved her boot in his face.

"Well," she said. "This is interesting for one so young." She left her boot there for a moment, and Adam tried not to wince. He wouldn't let her see any weakness.

"Take him to my chambers," Scorpina said finally. "He interests me."

_October 4th, 1994_

The whole group was on edge as they followed Aisha, and Adam could feel the start of a freak out. He tried to take deep calming breaths, the way that Aisha had shown him, and eventually it started to help.

The others hadn't noticed, at least. He didn't want their pity, and he certainly didn't want them to think that he wasn't capable of fighting. He didn't want to worry them. He just wanted to make sure that nobody ever went through again what he'd been through.

"Where to now?" Rocky asked. "It's really hot here."

Aisha stopped and consulted the map again. "It should be just a little bit farther, whatever it is."

"Hopefully it'll have a way for us to get back," Angela pointed out. "Since I'm pretty sure that this may not even be the same dimension."

"It's not," Adam said suddenly. That must be why he was feeling so nervous. "Definitely not our dimension."

"Is it one you've been in before?" Angela asked carefully.

"I don't think so," Adam said after a moment. "But I mostly stayed either in our dimension or in the Dark Dimension." He was proud that his voice didn't really shake when he said that.

"Maybe the inhabitants are friends," Gene said after a moment.

"There's a first time for everything," Rocky agreed.

"Well, there's no point in turning back now," Aisha said defiantly, as she took one last glance at the map, and then began to walk, the others following behind her.

_January 24th, 1994_

"Follow," Scorpina ordered.

Adam did as he was told. It was just easier that way. If he didn't, or she even thought that he was hesitating in following her commands, or that some sort of resistance passed through him…. Well, it was better for him if he didn't think about it. The last few months had been hard, but he wasn't going to think about it. He wasn't going to think about anything. He was just going to do whatever it was that Scorpina wanted, and then go back to his cell. Rocky would be there. Things would be okay while he was there. He was safe there.

He only flinched a little as he walked behind her, keeping his head bowed. Scorpina didn't like it when he looked her in the eye, not without permission. He'd gotten better at following her just from watching her heels. He'd only bumped into her once. He never would again.

Scorpina paused, and Adam stopped as well, making sure that he was still three steps behind her. She reached out and took his wrist, and Adam was proud that he did not flinch.

He didn't know why he should be proud of that.

"We're going into Stone Canyon," she said, her nails digging into his skin, and Adam barely even registered the pain. He'd had so much worse, that it wasn't worth thinking about at all.

They teleported out without much warning, and Adam felt his stomach lurch as they arrived. It wasn't the first time he'd been teleported by her – she seemed to enjoy taking him around to see the new order under Rita's regime. And she was always excited afterwards, which was never good for Adam.

He raised his eyes enough to look at his hometown. They'd landed in the very center of the city. Adam had spent a lot of time here, before, but now it was hard to remember what it had been like. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what had been in the store on the corner.

The blow caught him off guard, but he didn't fall.

"Watch it," Scorpina hissed.

"Yes, Mistress," Adam repeated dully.

"Scorpina," Squatt said, as he appeared in front of them. "There are some rebel invaders nearby. Rita wants you there right away!"

"I'm busy," Scorpina said. "Can't you see I've brought my prize with me?"

"Empress Rita said immediately," the blue buffoon insisted.

Scorpina sighed dramatically. "Fine," she said, her gold dress shimmering to become her suit of armor. Adam shivered, but at least she was still in her human form. "Take him back to my rooms on the moon." She teleported out, leaving Adam alone with Squatt.

He wasn't sure what to do. He could go back with Squatt, knowing what would be there later that day. It wasn't something he was looking forward to.

It would be so easy to escape. He didn't dare risk a glance over his shoulder. This was probably a test. If he tried to run, Scorpina would grab him, and he would be beaten. Or worse. Maybe this time she would kill him.

It was probably a trap. He was sure of it.

"Come along, human!" Squatt said. "Scorpina will be very displeased with us if you aren't there waiting for her when she returns."

All he had to do was go with Squatt. Maybe he would have some more freedom after. It was probably a trick.

Still, this could be the only chance that he had to escape. If he passed up this opportunity, then there would probably never be another chance. If he left, there was no way of knowing what would happen to Rocky.

He did the only thing he could – he turned and ran.

_October 4th, 1994_

"We seem to be spending a lot of time following weird directions," Gene observed. "First we follow people out in the desert to find whatever it is that Rita's searching for, and now we're following some sort of map that could be leading us straight into a trap."

"You have to be prepared to take some risks," Adam reminded him, more harshly than he intended. "Otherwise, we might as well give up and just let them win."

He knew the others were staring at him, but he just plunged ahead and kept walking, ignoring the feeling of their eyes. It was easier.

He tried to keep his eyes up, staring straight ahead. This wasn't the time to be thinking about the past, not right now. There was a mission. They had to complete the mission. Everything else could be thought about later, or better yet, never.

"Hello, Adam," a voice said, and Adam felt a chill going through him.

"Scorpina," he said through gritted teeth, staring at his ex-captor. It took every ounce of willpower that he had not to call her Mistress, or to take a step back. The other members of his team came up behind him, lending him their strength. He wouldn't have to face her alone.

"It's been a long time," the monster replied, and Adam assumed a fighting stance, matching the others. "Do you really think you can fight me?" she asked. "You should know better. Of course, it will be all the more incentive for me to punish you, afterwards, so if you really want to try this, then let's fight!"

She leapt at him, but Adam was expecting it, and dodged out of the way, taking Angela down with him as he went.

A swarm of Z-Putties appeared, and the group split up to fight them. Aisha and Gene had squared off with Scorpina, and Adam was grateful that they were sparing him the confrontation. He instead threw himself into fighting putties. He didn't need to think about it. It was just punch, dodge, kick, kick, dodge left, block, punch. He let himself get settled into the routine, until he saw Aisha fall.

He shouted her name, and jumped over a putty, his leg hitting it in the Z as he went. He crouched by her side, and brought up his arms up to block Scorpina's blow, and with a strength that he didn't know that he had, managed to send her sword flying.

"How dare you defy me?" she screeched at him as she grabbed for her weapon. "You will pay for this!"

As soon as she'd regained her sword, she and the putties vanished. The five of them stood there for a minute, breathing heavily, and then they grinned.

"We did it!" Aisha said.

"I fought her," Adam said in disbelief. "I really fought her."

"You did!" Aisha said. She kissed him quickly, and Adam smiled.

"So where to next?" he asked. "You know that they'll be back at any moment."

Aisha consulted the map. "That's weird," she said. "If I'm reading this right, then I'm guessing that we should be right there. But I don't see anything, do you?"

Just then, the ground began to shake.


	6. Ninjor

Ninjor had been waiting for this moment for nearly a year. He had felt the death of Zordon, and it had pained him greatly. But he, like many of the Morphin Masters of old, was not permitted to interfere. Not until a group had proven themselves to be worthy of The Power, and he had begun to worry that no group ever would. It had only been a year of their time, but it had always been before that when one group of Rangers fell, another would step up instantly to replace them.

But Earth was a young world, and they had not yet learned the old ways. Still, the group that currently lay before him was a good group. They were damaged, but still strong. Each and every one of them had proven that they were dedicated to overthrowing the overlords who had conquered their world. They were more than deserving of the right to call themselves Power Rangers.

"Welcome!" he called in his deep, booming voice. The Rangers, or the soon-to-be Rangers, all began to stir, and he watched as they sat up, eyeing him warily. "Do not be alarmed, I am not going to hurt you. I am Ninjor, the keeper of the Temple of the Ninja Power, and a friend and compatriot of Zordon of Eltare."

"Who?" the one destined to be the Red Ranger asked suspiciously, as he got to his feet.

Ninjor sighed. "Zordon is the fallen mentor of Earth's original team of Power Rangers," he explained to them. "Sadly, he is no more. But you have all shown that you understand what it is to be the Power Rangers, and to fight evil. If you accept this power and responsibility, then you too will be Power Rangers."

The five warriors exchanged glances, and then nodded.

"Please stand in a circle around me and raise your arms," Ninjor requested, and they did, matching motion to his words. He handed each of them a Power Coin in turn, pocketing the last one for himself. It was a shame, but none of them would be able to use that coin, not as long as the true holder of the coin still lived.

"I shall guide you in your quest for knowledge and power. Older than time itself - man has always known the calling. Light of the light, strength of the soul, ignite this eternal power inside of me. I am Ninja!"

Ninjor watched with pride as five brilliant flashes of color exploded along the way, leaving the five teens dressed in the outfits of the Ninjetti. They were not the traditional uniforms of the Power Rangers, although they could become so when it was necessary. Their eyes opened, and they glanced down at themselves, and Ninjor knew that this team could hold the key to stopping the evil that had enveloped the earth.

"I am pure of heart, body, mind, and spirit. Join with me now as I become one with the power of Ninja. Your journey is complete. Now it is time for you to claim your destiny. You now possess the power of Ninja deep within your souls. Come and learn of your new gifts."

Adam stepped forward, claiming his place as the leader of the Power Rangers. "I am the ape, mighty and strong! We are one!" He placed a red gauntleted hand on the ape symbol on his chest, bowing at Ninjor.

Aisha stepped up next, and a yellow light surrounded her. "I am the bear, cunning and fierce!" Her voice was filled with pride, and Ninjor felt a sense of rightness – this, at least was the way that the universe was supposed to have gone. This was something that Aisha was born for.

Then Gene stepped forward, although his voice shook. "I am the wolf, silent and sure!" He didn't sound quite as sure, and Ninjor could sense some doubt coming from him, some sense that he did not deserve to be wearing this color, even though Ninjor could tell that he would make a fine Blue Ranger.

Angela stepped forward, tears running down her cheeks. "I am the frog, courageous in spirit!" Ninjor could see her mind drift, and sensed that she was thinking of the man who had been the Black Ranger before her. But she was truly courageous, and she would be a fine holder of the Power.

Rocky was the last one to step forward. "I am the falcon, just and able!" There wasn't much emotion coming from the new White Ranger, just a fierce determination.

"Congratulations, Power Rangers," Ninjor told them. "You will have a few problems that have not been encountered by earlier Rangers. You will not be able to summon the NinjaMegazord, as you will be unable to complete the transformation without the Crane."

"We could probably find a Pink Ranger," Adam said, although he didn't sound convinced. "Veronica, maybe?"

Ninjor shook his head. "Nay, Red Ranger. The Pink Power Coin will only work for one person, and she still lives in captivity on the moon."

"Kimberly is still alive?" Gene asked, before Ninjor's words had time to register with any of the other Rangers. "We need to find her!"

"You must!" Ninjor agreed. He handed the Pink Power Coin to Rocky, who slipped it into the folds of his uniform. "But I have faith in you, my team. Now you must leave my temple and get through the barrier. From there, you should be able to teleport back to your homes."

"Thank you, Ninjor," Adam said. His team followed him out, and Ninjor smiled as best he was able. Hopefully this was the beginning of the end.


	7. Rocky

Chapter 7 - Rocky

_October 5th, 1994_

The sun was just rising as they left Ninjor's temple, and Rocky was feeling strangely refreshed. There was an inner peace that had come over him that he hadn't felt in a very long time. There was also a well of power, and strength that he could feel flowing within him, and for the first time he honestly started to think that they had a chance of winning.

The group was fairly relaxed as they all walked out, and Rocky could understand why. They were Power Rangers now. They felt invincible. He knew that he was the only one who was thinking about the fates of the original team – everyone else, he was sure, was just thinking of the ways that they could defeat Rita now that they had these extra powers.

But Rocky knew better than anyone the evils that Rita was capable of. He'd seen them first hand, witnessed so many atrocities that it was hard for him to think of anything else.

Adam and Gene were halfway through an elaborate plan to storm the moon and rescue Kimberly, when Angela held up a hand.

"Hold it," she said. "Does anyone else hear something?"

"I do," Gene said, one hand moving to touch the symbol on his chest. "I smell it too."

The air crackled around them, and the Evil green Ranger and a swarm of Z-Putties appeared.

"Well, well, well," the Green Ranger drawled. "So somehow you've found yourselves some Power Coins." Rocky could almost see him smirking underneath the mask. "Still," the Green Ranger continued. "I've got to congratulate you on your questionable taste in Power Rangers," he said, as he looked at Rocky. "Although I'm sure that my Empress would thank you, for you have given us another Ranger."

"What do you mean?" Adam said, stepping in front of Rocky protectively.

The Green Ranger just laughed, and raised his Dagger to his helmet.

The music was unlike anything that Rocky had ever heard before. There was something about it that was compelling, seductive. He had heard the Green Ranger play the Dragon Dagger before, but this time was different.

He moved without understanding why he was doing so, until he realized that he was standing beside the Green Ranger. He could see the look of hurt in Adam's eyes, and a part of him wanted to cry out, to run back to Adam, but the power of the Evil Green Ranger held him steady.

_July 10th, 1994_

Rocky had long ago stopped screaming. It wasn't a way of defying the Empress, to not let her and her minions hear how badly they were hurting him. It was more that his throat had so long ago gone raw that he simply lacked the ability to scream. He had been the favored target for months now, ever since Adam had escaped.

He didn't blame Adam. Rocky would have run too, if he'd had the opportunity. He'd been grateful that Scorpina hadn't looked to him for a replacement for Adam. That would have been even worse than the physical torture.

The last blow finally came, and for some reason there was music playing, and Rocky tried to get back on his feet. It hadn't been a bad beating, not in comparison to some of the other ones. That was how he judged things now, had been judging them.

He almost managed to stand, but he collapsed back to his knees. It hurt just to move, and his head was ringing with a mysterious melody.

He was dragged roughly to his feet, and the Green Ranger was staring down at him. He didn't know if the Green Ranger had been one of the ones who had been beating him, it didn't matter either.

"Take him," the Green Ranger said coldly.

The putties dragged him up, and Rocky tried to regain his footing, but every time he nearly managed to steady himself, one of the Putties would hit him again, and he would fall.

He knew better than to ask where it was that they were taking him. He didn't want to be beaten again. He'd had enough of it for one day. He'd had enough of it for a lifetime, but there was no getting around that. He knew he would be beaten again, but maybe he could postpone it for a little while at least.

It was the first time that he'd left the camp in a very long time. When he thought about it, it was probably the first time he'd left the camp since he'd been captured. He didn't know for sure why they were taking him, but he had some suspicions. Some people had disappeared before – Adam's parents had been among them. They had been taken outside soon after Adam's escape, and he'd never seen them again. Some people thought that maybe they'd been moved to another camp, but Rocky assumed that they had been killed.

Maybe they were going to kill him now. He was almost looking forward to it.

He didn't know how long they had walked for, or rather how far he had been dragged for. It didn't matter anyway.

All he knew was that they finally stopped, and the Green Ranger was standing over him.

"I'm going to kill you now," the Green Ranger said, his voice devoid of all emotion. "You see, your former friends have been causing trouble for the Empress lately. Finding your body here in Angel Grove will serve as a good reminder that there are consequences for their actions."

So Adam, and maybe Aisha, were alive. They were still fighting. He was glad to know that after he'd lost so much, seen so many dead, at least some of them had survived. He could die happy, at least.

There was a sound, and he thought that he heard Aisha's voice, yelling his name. But it couldn't be. She wasn't actually here, she couldn't actually be here.

The Green Ranger's sword swung down at him, and he knew no more.

_October 5th, 1994_

Rocky found himself standing behind the Green Ranger. He tried to move back toward his friends, but he could not move.

"You really think that we just let you rescue him?" the Green Ranger said, sounding bemused. "We just happened to try and execute him in the spot where you were? And then I, of all people, would run at the sight of you? You are such fools."

His laugh was terrifying, and Rocky was filled with despair. Still, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't force himself to move back to his friends.

Rocky's outfit transformed into the traditional uniform of a Power Ranger. Like the Green Ranger, he had a shield. None of the other colors had one, at least not from what he remembered seeing on the TV.

The Green Ranger raised his Dragon Dagger to his lips, and all of the uncertainty that Rocky was feeling was gone. He would fight the Power Rangers, and he would destroy them.

"Hello, Adam," he said, his voice cold. All of the anger that he had felt when Adam had left him behind came to the forefront. Adam had known what was going to happen to him. This was all his fault.

"Rocky, man, you can't do this," Adam said. "You're not evil. You're one of us, part of the rebellion!"

"Please, Rocky," Aisha chimed in. "Come back to us."

"I am not one of you," Rocky said, launching himself at Adam, his saber appearing in his hand instantly.

Adam brought up his own sword to block, but he didn't attack back.

"I'm not going to fight you," Adam said, as he parried Rocky's blow.

Rocky didn't even notice that none of the other Rangers were fighting. They, like the Green Ranger, Scorpina, and Goldar, were watching their fight. All he could do was concentrate on the fight with Adam.

"Please," Adam was begging. "You can't do this. We're best friends."

"Friends don't leave each other behind," he said coldly, and even with the mask, he could see that Adam was visibly hurt by his words, and he failed to block Rocky's next blow. There was so much blood.

"Adam!" Aisha screamed. "Rocky, stop it!" She took a step forward, but Rocky held his sword up, preventing her from moving forward.

He laughed. "I don't see the point in killing you now," he said. "The Rangers died too quickly last time."

In a flash of white light, he teleported out.

Rocky had never been on the moon before. He felt the controls on him momentarily relax. It was at least easier for him to think now that he was away from the Green Ranger.

"Ah, my new Ranger is here!" a shrill and screeching voice said, and Rocky looked up only to see Empress Rita herself walking toward them, gesturing wildly with her magic wand. "Well?" she screeched. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I live only to serve you, Empress," Rocky heard himself say, as he bowed to her.

"Excellent!" Rita said. "Have Baboo take you to your new rooms. Tomorrow, we attack and destroy the rebellion once and for all!"

"Yes, my empress."

He mutely followed the monster. There was nothing he really could say or do – it didn't matter what he thought, he was going to have to obey.

This was worse than any of the beatings he had ever undergone. He wanted Adam and Aisha, or one of his other teammates. He wanted to feel the inner peace from only a few hours before, after getting the powers.

"This is your room, White Ranger," Baboo said, gesturing to a white door. "Since the spell we placed on you all those months ago ensures that you will be loyal to the empress, you can go wherever you like."

Rocky nodded, and entered the chamber that Baboo had gestured to. It was spacious, at least compared to the tiny room he had with the rebellion, or the cell that he had been forced to live in at his first time as Rita's guest.

He sat down on the bed for a moment, but he wasn't willing to try and go to sleep. He tried to concentrate on the core of him, the part that held the power that Ninjor had given him. But no matter how hard he tried to get up and run, he couldn't.

Instead, he thought that he could at least try and walk around. He had been given permission to do that.

Leaving his room, he was surprised to see that he was unguarded. He guessed that wasn't too surprising – Rita had nothing to fear from him as long as he was compelled to obey her.

He turned down the hallway, and he wished there was some more light. The whole palace that he had seen so far was dank and depressing, and fit with the mood that he was in. There were more doors in this wing than he thought there would be – Rita couldn't have that many people, but maybe some of them were other slaves.

One of the doors was green. That had to be the Green Ranger's room. Rocky didn't really want to see him. He passed that one by. He had no desire to interact with him again, ever.

So he kept walking. The next door was in pink, and Rocky stopped suddenly. It couldn't be.

Ninjor _had_ said the Pink Ranger was still alive.

He walked over to the door, which opened as he approached. Unlike the other rooms, it was well lit.

There was very little furniture in the room, just an absolutely giant bed. A girl about his age was lying there, curled up in a ball.

"Kimberly?" he asked hesitantly.

"Not another one," she said, emotion barely registering. If anything, she sounded resigned.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Rocky promised her, making sure that he stayed within her line of sight, but he made no move to approach her.

Kimberly laughed bitterly. She sounded like Adam, or himself. "Right," she said. "I've heard that one before."

"I'm Rocky DeSantos," he said. "I am…" The pain started again, although it was weaker than it had been before, so he changed what he was saying. "I was with the resistance."

"Was?" she said harshly.

Rocky bowed his head. "The Green Ranger put some sort of spell on me. I betrayed them."

She scooted back from him a little bit.

"You're a Power Ranger," she said suddenly.

Rocky looked down at himself, and realized that he was still wearing the Ninja outfit from when Ninjor had given them their powers.

"Yes," he said.

"Get away from me," she said dully. "It's bad enough that I'm here. Just… go."

Rocky turned and left.

*

He was barely a minute away from Kimberly's room when the Green Ranger stopped by. At least that was who he assumed it was. This was the first time that he had ever seen the Green Ranger unmorphed, but from the way that he was walking, there was nobody else that he could be.

"You stay away from Kimberly," the Green Ranger said. "She doesn't belong to you."

Rocky desperately wanted to say that she didn't belong to him either, but the words died in his throat, and instead he nodded his head.

"Whatever you say," he answered, managing not to add "Sir" to it.

"Go back to your quarters," the Green Ranger told him. "And stay there until we're ready to attack. You'll be instrumental in destroying your friends," he added smugly.

Rocky had no choice but to do as he was told.

_October 6th, 1994_

Rocky hadn't slept well at all, which wasn't surprising. He didn't want to go fight Adam and Aisha. He'd been best friends with them since they were four. And he'd become close to Angela and Gene over the last few months as well. They had rescued him before, after all. Even after what he'd nearly done to them, they would have to forgive him

He needed help. And hopefully, he could get that help from the one person on the moon who could truly understand him…

"Kimberly," he said as he reached her quarters. She was still sleeping, curled up on the bed, and he could see a fresh bruise on her cheek.

"Just leave me alone," she said, her voice slightly slurred.

He walked over to her, pulling out the pink coin. Every step he took toward her was pure agony, as the spell tried to stop him. But he couldn't let it. He was not going to let Rita win. He wasn't going to hurt anyone else again.

"Here," he said as he handed it to her, the last bits of the spell breaking up as he did so. "I have something for you."


	8. Kimberly Again

For so long, there had only been pain. It had been nearly a year now, and the only company she had had for so long was Tommy, and she never wanted to see him. She knew what he wanted, and it didn't matter how hard she fought him, she would always lose.

So this, this new Ranger, who was offering her a Power Coin. This had to be a trap.

"This can't be," she whispered, even as she yearned to take the coin. "It was destroyed."

"When Ninjor gave us our coins," Rocky said, and she could hear the pain in his voice, and she realized he had to be fighting a spell, "he said that the Pink Power Coin would only work for the holder of the power. That's you, right?"

Kimberly hesitated. It had been so long. She hadn't had any power, any choices. But she was a Power Ranger, selected by Zordon.

"Yes," she said finally, and her hand closed around the coin. The words that she had waited to say for so long fell from her lips.

"It's Morphin Time! Pterodactyl!"

Nothing happened, and for one horrible moment Kimberly thought that she had lost the use of the power forever. But there was something not quite right.

She raised the coin up again, the words that she needed coming to her. "I am the crane, agile and graceful! Pink Ranger Power!"

As she morphed, she realized that she had forgotten how it felt, the sense of power and strength that it gave her. She was capable of almost anything. She wasn't a prisoner any longer, she was a Power Ranger again.

"Thank you," she said, trying to express everything that she was feeling in just those two words. "Now let's get out of here."

"Right," Rocky agreed. Then he paused. "Um, do you have any idea how to get out of here?"

"You teleported in, right? So we should be able to do the same."

She watched as Rocky tried, but then he shook his head. "Not working."

"There are portals on the other side," Kimberly told him. "But we'll have to pass by the throne room to get there."

"We can do it," Rocky said. "We have to."

"Right," Kimberly agreed. It was so easy to fall back into a rhythm of being a Ranger. She tried not to think of any of her teammates, or anything that had happened in the last year.

This was her chance for revenge. This was her chance to go after Tommy for all that he had done to her.

She could almost hear Zordon's voice in her head, reminding her that the Power was not supposed to be used for personal gain. However, he'd also told her that the Power would protect her. Some revenge would be okay. And besides, it wouldn't _just_ be personal gain. She'd be doing the whole world a favor if they destroyed the Green Ranger.

But right now she didn't think she was strong enough.

"Are there more Rangers?" she asked.

"We've got a whole team," the White Ranger told her as they ran. Kimberly tried not to think of her friends, and just concentrated on finding the way out. She hadn't seen very much of the base in her year there, since Tommy had mostly kept her confined.

"Well, well, well," a voice drawled. "Look who seems to have gotten her powers back."

Tommy appeared bin front of them. "Come here, Beautiful," he said. "Time for you to go back where you belong."

Kimberly's bow appeared in her hand in an instant.

"I am back where I belong," she said, as she fired the first arrow.

It hit, just as she knew it would. She may have been out of practice, but there was no way that she was going to miss at this close a distance. Her arrow managed to pin him to the wall. She should probably kill him, but there wasn't time for that now.

"Come on!" she yelled to the White Ranger. "Let's get out of here."

*

They had nearly made it out when Goldar, Scorpina and Tommy caught back up with them.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Goldar said.

Kimberly brought up her bow again, and she saw that Rocky had a sword as well.

"We're leaving," she said. "Or if you prefer, we can kill you now." Her voice didn't shake at all. She meant exactly what she said – after everything that they had done to her, she was going to kill them all. It was just a matter of whether or not it would be now or later.

It didn't matter that they had killed the others. She was going to make them suffer for what they did.

Rocky didn't look nearly as convinced.

Scorpina just laughed at them. "You're hilarious," she told them. "You really think that you're going to escape?"

"Yes," Kimberly said. She had her powers back, she was a Ranger again. She could do anything.

"We're going to fight you," Rocky added.

Tommy just laughed. "I don't think so," he said, as he morphed back into the Green Ranger, and he held the Dragon Dagger up triumphantly. "I'll just have to increase the power of the spell this time."

The first notes of the song began to play, and Kimberly saw the tell-tale signs that the spell was reasserting itself. There was something in the way his posture changed – he wasn't _him_ anymore, he was more like Tommy was, only in white.

"Fight it," she said urgently. "Rocky, you have to!"

He took a step toward Tommy, and Kimberly stepped back involuntarily. "Please!"

Rocky was shaking as he moved, the compulsion from the Dragon Dagger preventing him from escaping with her. If she ran, she might be able to make it.

Rocky paused right in front of Tommy.

"No," he said firmly, as he brought up his sword, knocking the Dragon Dagger out of Tommy's hand. "Come on!" he yelled, and he turned to ran. He had only made it a few steps when she saw Tommy raise the sword of Darkness. Rocky didn't even have a chance to turn and defend himself before Tommy struck him down.

"No!" Kimberly yelled.

"Run," Rocky whispered, his voice hoarse with pain, as his eyes began to close. "You can make it."

Kimberly had no choice. There would be time for tears later.

*

She made it to the portal with no other problems, and for the first time in a year was back on Earth. She had missed it.

This was Angel Grove, then. She demorphed, and breathed in the smell of the air. It was not quite the same as she remembered it, but nothing about Angel Grove was really the same.

"Who are you?" a voice said, and Kimberly saw four other teens had appeared. She didn't recognize two of the guys, but the girl looked familiar.

"Veronica?" she asked hesitantly. "Is that you?"

"Kimberly?" Veronica said. "But you're dead."

"I escaped," Kimberly told her. "Rocky helped me."

"We need to take you to headquarters," Veronica decided.

"It could be a trap," said one of the boys, who looked a little bit like Zack.

"Shut up, Curtis," Veronica said. "This is Kimberly Hart." She smiled warmly as Kim. "C'mon, girl," she said. "The boys and I are taking you home."

*

The Youth Center hadn't entirely changed. There was still Ernie. There would always be Ernie. She recognized some of the other adults – Miss Appleby was there, and she immediately came over to hug Kimberly as soon as she saw her. Jerome Stone had apparently been with the police. She wasn't that surprised to find out that Principal Caplan was dead. There weren't any tears left for her to shed for him. She didn't even bother to ask about her mom.

Kimberly was quickly escorted into the inner chamber, where four teens in familiar colors were waiting for her.

"Skull?" she said in surprise. "And Angela?"

"It's Gene," he corrected her. "It's good to see you, Kim."

"How did you get those powers?" the one in red demanded. He was sitting down, the girl who was wearing yellow hovering over him anxiously. She could see why – he was clearly injured.

"Rocky gave me the power coin," she said.

"What happened to him?" he demanded. "And how do we know you're not going to betray us as well?" His voice was filled with pain, and she doubted that all of it came from the wounds.

"He broke the spell," Kimberly told him. "And managed to give me back my Power Coin."

"Then where is he?" the Red Ranger demanded.

"Tommy stabbed him while we were trying to escape," Kimberly said quietly. "He was saving me."

"But he had his mind?" the Red Ranger pressed.

"He'd broken the spell," Kimberly assured him. "He sacrificed himself to rescue me."

"Okay then," the Red Ranger said. He held out a hand to her. "I'm Adam. This is Aisha," he said as he gestured to the girl next to him. "And you know Gene and Angela already."

Angela came over and gave her a hug. "We thought you were dead," Angela said quietly.

"You look good in Zack's color," Kim told her. "He'd be glad to see you wearing it."

"Thanks," Angela said.

"And Skull!" Kim said. "I never thought…" she trailed off.

"I grew up a little bit," he admitted.

"Okay then," Adam said. "We need to go figure out how to stop them, once and for all."

"With Kimberly here, we should be able to summon the Ninja Megazord," Gene said. "So at least we don't need to worry about getting crushed again if Rita makes one of her monsters grow."

"Or if Tommy summons the Dragonzord," Kimberly added.

"It's still one advantage that we didn't have before," Aisha said. "Kim, is there any chance that Rocky could still be alive?"

Kimberly shook her head. "It was a pretty bad wound," she said doubtfully. "I mean, they could have revived him…"

"Another rescue attempt then," Aisha said. "We don't leave people behind."

"That won't be necessary," someone else said, looking up from a console.

"What is it, Raymond?" Ernie asked.

"The Green Ranger has teleported into the harbor district," he said. "Are we going to go with standard procedures, or are we sending in the Rangers?"

"We're going in," Adam said bluntly. "Evacuate everyone else, but we were given these powers for a reason, and we're going to fight." He glanced at Kimberly. "Are you coming?"

"Definitely," she said.

"Okay then," Adam said. "It's Morphin Time!"

"Black Ranger Power!"

"Pink Ranger Power!"

"Blue Ranger Power!"

"Yellow Ranger Power!"

"Red Ranger Power!"

"Man," Ernie said. "I could get used to watching the five of you do that."

*

They made it to the harbor district fairly quickly. Rita's goons had always loved the harbor district.

"Hello, Power Brats," Goldar growled as they appeared.

"We have a present for you," Tommy said, and he raised the dragon dagger to his lips, blowing a few notes.

A body appeared in midair, and then crumbled to the ground, clearly no longer breathing.

Rocky.

"You're going to pay for this," Adam snarled. Aisha placed her hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"My turn," she said, her daggers appearing in her hand.

"Oh, I don't think so," Tommy said. He blew a few more notes, and looked out over the water. The Dragonzord had appeared. He'd never even bothered to have used it against them back when she was a Ranger, he hadn't needed it. But Kimberly had heard him talking about how powerful it was.

"You aren't the only one with Zords," Kimberly said. She looked over at the Red Ranger. "Ready?" she asked.

He nodded.

As one, the five of them yelled, "We need Ninjazord Power now!"

"Black Frog NinjaZord Power Up!"

"Pink Crane NinjaZord Power Up!"

"Blue Wolf NinjaZord Power Up!"

"Yellow Bear NinjaZord Power Up!"

"Red Ape NinjaZord Power Up!"

The words came to them instantly, along with the knowledge of how to use their Zords, just as had happened to Kimberly over a year before. She leapt up, and found herself in the cockpit of her new zord. The Crane Zord wasn't entirely like her old Pterodactyl Zord. She missed that one. But it was impressive in its own way.

"Pink Ranger here," she called out over the comm. "All systems locked and loaded."

She heard the others check in as well.

Adam's voice was last. "Okay, let's bring 'em together," he said.

Forming the Megazord was pure instinct. The knowledge was there for them to use. Her Zord was the head now, instead of the chest. She was okay with that. This was something different. It didn't need to be exactly as it had been before – in fact, it was probably better that they didn't have their old Zords. Her old Zord. They could make new memories this way.

The five Zords locked in together, and the five of them were in the central command.

"Well, well, well," Tommy's voice drawled over their stereo, as he leapt into his own Zord. "So you have a new toy. It doesn't matter that much – you're going to be destroyed."

"I don't think so," Adam said. "Power Punch!" he commanded. The five of them worked together and the Megazord did as he had instructed, catching the Dragonzord off guard. Their Zord was more powerful than his was, and the Dragonzord got knocked backwards.

"We don't have a sword," Angela said in surprise.

"We don't need one," Kim said. "He's nearly down, we can get him again."

"Agreed," Adam said. "One more time!"

They advanced on the Dragonzord, which still hadn't regained its footing. The wolf arm hit first, followed by the ape arm. The Dragonzord cracked, and fell, and with an explosion was destroyed completely.

"Yes!" Angela shouted. "We did it!"

"The Green Ranger teleported out," Aisha pointed out. "We didn't get him."

"We will next time," Adam said.

"Next time," the others agreed.

"You know, I'm almost looking forward to it," Kimberly said. "Because next time we'll beat him and Rita once and for all."

The others laughed, and it was an amazing sound, one that had been missing from all of their lives for far too long.

Epilogue – Ernie

_October 7th, 1994_

Ernie looked out over at the assembled crowd.

"Hello everyone," he said. "It's been a long year. We've lost many people in our fight," he glanced around the room. There was nobody there who hadn't lost friends and family. He saw Justin and Fred, orphans both, who had grown old far earlier than they should have. Curtis had joined them after his cousin Zack's death. Miss Applebee had seen most of her class killed. And of course the new Rangers, who had already lost one of their own.

"But," he continued. "We have survived a whole year. We've dealt several devastating blows to Rita. We have a team of Power Rangers again. And we have proved that we can beat her!"

Ernie gestured the new Rangers forward. "With our Rangers, new and old, and all of us working together, we know that good will triumph over evil."

Kimberly stepped up. "Zordon told us once that the Power will protect us. But the thing is, we protect each other. The power is within us all."


End file.
